ecogadget newsfeedhttp://ecogadget.net
This is a newsfeed of entries for ecogadget.Sun, 02 Feb 2014 04:45:46 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3-alphahttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/Ecogadgethttps://feedburner.google.comHow Many Oranges Does It Take to Power an iPhone?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Ecogadget/~3/TriwvUGXNIQ/
http://ecogadget.net/2010/02/13/how-many-oranges-does-it-take-to-power-an-iphone/#commentsSun, 14 Feb 2010 02:11:23 +0000http://ecogadget.net/?p=532Well, this may hardly be a practical green energy (taking 2380 orange slices to charge an iPhone!) this is still a brilliant video. Check it out!

TreeHugger makes an interesting point about this gadget – it seems that solar cells are being placed on everything these days. While I’m not sure how well the solar cell would charge considering you’re likely to be using in a car – where light might not reach – I totally promote the idea of a solar cell on everything, why not? Even if they won’t meet all our charging needs, every little bit counts, and when your out in the middle of nowhere and need to charge your device, it can be a lifesaver.

In any case – this is the SolarVoice 908. Should the solar cell provide the device with all the power it needs, I think it’s brilliant. The headset I have now sits in my car, almost permanently. While it rarely needs charging, it’s a huge pain to bring it inside to charge – then forget it and not have it when I’m driving around. The solar cell would eliminate this providing it with unlimited free power. Again, mostly it would be used inside a car which most likely wouldn’t have direct sun, but we’ll see.

Treehugger has put together a great list of over 100 iPhone apps to green every part of your life. From measuring footprings to carbon offsets to green shopping, it seems there’s nothing the iPhone can’t do.

This app claims to put a portion of the purchase price towards carbon offsetting your iPhone. While treehugger wisely tells you to be wary of this claim, it’s a fantastic idea. I highly doubt the $2.99 purchase price does much in carbon offsets, but here’s an idea for a developer. Find out exactly how much it costs to completely offset an iPhone, and make an app that charges that. I bet there’s a lot of people out there who’d pay $20 or more to make their iPhone completely carbon neutral.

Enter your appliances, and the app will predict your power bill. It will suggest ways you can reduce your energy usage and show which appliances cost you the most. Interestingly as well, you can buy carbon offsets through the app from TerraPass.

Want to go completely off-grid? Solar PV shows you what kind of system you need. It will tell you the number of panels you need, amount of space, cost estimate, etc. This will help you get a better idea of the reality of going off-grid.

Path tracker tracks your walks, bikes, runs, etc, using your iPhone’s GPS. It will give you stats like travel time, average speed, etc. This is a great way to track your exercise or just to make it a bit more fun. Walk, run, bike – don’t drive!

These are a couple of my favorites, but the TreeHugger article has over 100! Go check it out at the link below:

]]>http://ecogadget.net/2009/10/13/green-iphone-apps/feed/0http://ecogadget.net/2009/10/13/green-iphone-apps/EcoATM pays you for used gadgetshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Ecogadget/~3/05m8NeINYP4/
http://ecogadget.net/2009/10/13/ecoatm-pays-you-for-used-gadgets/#commentsTue, 13 Oct 2009 04:18:55 +0000http://ecogadget.net/?p=513Continue reading EcoATM pays you for used gadgets]]>

With the constant upgrading that has become the staple of modern technology, we tend to end up with a lot of electronic garbage – I know I have a couple of iPods sitting around and quite a couple cellphones.

Enter the EcoATM – the ATM that pays you for your old technology. It’s cellphone-only at the moment, but you just pop in your cellphone, the machine gives you a real-time valuation, and out comes some cash. Much easier than a pawn shop and about a million times better than throwing it out.

In addition to the obvious benefit of actually recieving some money for your old gadgets, the EcoATM fights e-garbage pollution by keeping old cellphones out of landfills or other garbagey places- the company re-sells them to other consumers or companies that have a need for old phones.

Not all phones are worth something however – the machine can detect things like missing keys and cracked screens, but if you’re unlucky enough not to recieve some cash for your donation, the company will at least plant a tree for you, which isn’t bad considering you’d have just thrown it out anyway.

Future machines will extend beyond just cellphones to things like iPods, cameras, and laptops – and we can’t wait!

We covered a previous solar-powered iPhone case from Solar Arcadia, but they now have a new version – the Surge.

Available for both the iPhone and iPod Touch, the surge give your precious gadget some power when you’re out and about, all you need is the sun!

2 hours of direct solar exposure provides 30 minutes of talk time on a 3G network or 60 minutes talk time on a 2G network for the iPhone, and an integrated battery stores up to 120% of capacity of iPhone 3G’s or iPod Touch’s internal battery, so not only can you charge your phone from the sun, but you have a great backup battery as well. The iPhone version is compatible with both the iPhone 3G and 3GS – but not the original iPhone. The iPod Touch version is compatible with the iPod Touch Second-Gen only.

We’ve covered plenty of bamboo technology, including Vers other bamboo iPod speaker, the 2X. Bamboo is a great material to build with and super-sustainable due to it’s incredibly fast growth. Bamboo makes for a great combination of technology and sustainability and bring a great natural looks to your gadgets as well.

The Vers 1.5 takes the 2X a couple steps further by including a radio and an alarm clock. It’s a bit smaller than the 2X and it’s a perfect bedside alarm clock while maintaining the beauty and sustainability of bamboo.

As with the 2X it’s an iPod speaker but also includes a precision digital AM/FM tuner, large, backlit LCD, and 15 watt full range speaker. It also comes with IR remote which is a nice addition, external antennaÂ if you need to improve reception (has an internal antenna as well if you don’t).

Most importantly, it’s designed with a sustainable mindset, with wood selected from managed plantation sources, 100% post-consumer recycled packaging materials and energy-efficient components.

This is Solar Arcadia’s iphone case – this case comes with solar panels to give your phone some extra juice. This case could be a lifesaver for those on the go that can’t charge their phone as often. The case comes in “SideFlip” and “Leather Flip”, and also come in red, black, or white.

Well here’s something interesting. At CES this year Motorola announced the “Renew” – a completely carbon neutral cellphone.

The phone is made out of recycled plastic water bottles, and any carbon produced by manufacturing, usage, etc is offset by Carbonfund.org.

Interesting that Motorola has chosen to make a special environmentally-friendly phone rather than convert their line entirely, but we’ll give them points for starting, and we’ll assume they’ll switch all their phones once the technology is perfect, right motorola?

In any case, it’s a nice gesture. No word on pricing or availability, or even some photos, but we’ll be waiting!

]]>http://ecogadget.net/2009/01/17/motorola-announces-first-carbon-neutral-cellphone/feed/0http://ecogadget.net/2009/01/17/motorola-announces-first-carbon-neutral-cellphone/Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete oilhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Ecogadget/~3/S_JLmawZDdk/
http://ecogadget.net/2008/06/21/scientists-find-bugs-that-eat-waste-and-excrete-oil/#commentsSat, 21 Jun 2008 20:52:38 +0000http://ecogadget.net/?p=466Continue reading Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete oil]]>Scientists are working with a small type of bug that does something amazing. It eats waste and excrete’s crude oil. Pretty damn amazing. Now sure, the idea of ‘renewable oil’, while pretty amazing, does nothing for the environment. It doesn’t cut down on pollution, it doesn’t help global warming. However, it does cut down on drilling for oil, which can disturb habitats, so that’s a start.

It’s also great to know that it’s possible to create oil, rather than just mine it. Maybe, just maybe, this could help keep gas prices down until solar is widespread.